The first Pan-American Championship was held in Hollywood, 28 July - 12 August 1945. The line-up was as follows: 1. Samuel Reshevsky United States 10.5, 2. Reuben Fine United States 9, 3. Herman Pilnik Argentina 8.5, 4. Israel Horowitz United States 8, 5. Isaac Kashdan United States 7, 6. Hector Rossetto Argentina 6.5, 7-8. Weaver Adams United States, Herman Steiner United States 5.5, 9-10. Walter Cruz Brazil, José Joaquin Araiza Mexico 5, 11. Jose Broderman Cuba 3.5, 12. Herbert Seidman United States 3, 13. Joaquin Camarena Mexico 1.[1]
The second championship in 1954 was held in Los Angeles and was an open tournament.
| # | Year | City | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1* | 1945 | Hollywood | Samuel Reshevsky (USA) |
| 2* | 1954 | Los Angeles | Arthur Bisguier (USA) |
| 3* | 1958 | Bogotá | Oscar Panno (ARG) |
| 4* | 1963 | Havana | Eleazar Jiménez (CUB) |
| 5* | 1966 | Havana | Eleazar Jiménez (CUB) |
| 6* | 1968 | Cárdenas | Silvino Garcia Martinez (CUB) |
| 7* | 1970 | Havana | Eleazar Jiménez (CUB) |
| 1 | 1974 | Winnipeg | Walter Browne (USA) |
| 2 | 1977 | Santa Cruz | Herman Claudius Van Riemsdijk (BRA) |
| 3 | 1981 | San Pedro | Zenon Franco (PAR) |
| 4 | 1987 | La Paz | Pablo Ricardi (ARG) |
| 5 | ? | ? | |
| 6 | ? | ? | |
| 7 | ? | ? | |
| 8 | 1998 | San Felipe | Alexander Ivanov (USA) |
This tournament has been played as the qualifier for the World Cup stage of the World Championship in which the top seven qualify.
| # | Year | City | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2001 | Cali | Alex Yermolinsky (USA) |
| 2 | 2003 | Buenos Aires | Alexander Goldin (USA) |
| 3 | 2005 | Buenos Aires | Lázaro Bruzón (CUB) |
| 4 | 2007 | Cali | Julio Granda (PER) |
| 5 | 2008 | Boca Raton | Jaan Ehlvest (USA) |